The rivalry between Ohio University’s and Kent State’s wrestling teams is always a fierce one, and the fans who go to the event know it. When the Flashes traveled to Athens Friday, Bobcats’ fans let them know they weren’t welcome. However, the rowdy home crowd wasn’t enough to stop the Flashes.

Kent State defeated Ohio 23-9 in the meet, clinching its seventh straight dual victory and eighth straight win against the Bobcats. The Flashes (9-4, 2-0 MAC) won seven of the 10 matches.

Freshman Ian Miller was the star of the night, silencing the crowd with a 21-5 technical fall over Ohio’s Andrew Romanchik. Miller dominated with eight takedowns, including one late in the match to seal the fall.

“Ian was a little bit upset with the way the crowd was,” Coach Jim Andrassy said. “They had a really obnoxious crowd that just yelled things nonstop. I think Ian just wanted to quiet them, and he pretty much did.”

Miller improved his regular season record to 23-3. Senior Nic Bedelyon also earned his 23rd victory of the year with a solid 6-2 win over Gabe Ramos. The Bobcats were backed into a corner and on the defensive for much of the night.

“They beat them pretty handedly,” Andrassy said. “They’re a hard team to wrestle because they’re not very aggressive. It’s hard to get into your flow when their guys are playing so defensively.”

Kent State junior Stevie Mitcheff earned a 4-1 decision against Drew Hammer, his third straight win of the year. Junior Mallie Shuster shutout Harrison Hightower 7-0, and senior Ross Tice clinched the dual victory with a 6-4 win over Miles Chapman. Junior Casey Newburg closed the night with a 5-4 win.

With Kent State leading 9-3, Ohio picked up a little momentum when the Bobcats’ Darren Boing upset sophomore Tyler Small with a 7-5 win. It was a close match until Small was taken down late in the contest.

“Tyler fell behind late and couldn’t catch up because his opponent was being defensive,” Andrassy said. “I think he just needed to be more aggressive and go at him a little harder.”

The Flashes lost only three matches, and all of them by just two points each. Along with Tyler Small’s loss, senior Brendan Barlow lost a 2-0 decision to No. 7 Jeremy Johnson, and sophomore Brandonn Johnson came up short against No. 14 Nick Purdue, 3-1.

“They won those matches without getting any offensive points,” Andrassy said. “They didn’t score a whole lot of points. They try to win close matches like that, and they ended up winning three of them.”

Friday’s meet was the last chance for Kent State to see Ohio University until the MAC Championships in March. If the two teams meet again, the Flashes will have an idea of what to expect.

“I think most of our guys won pretty easily,” Andrassy said. “I think our guys that won have the ability to win again, and the guys that lost have the ability to win next time around. We know what their strategy is going to be, and we can make adjustments.”

Contact Tim Dorst at [email protected].